


Tales from the Verse

by jacyevans



Series: She Stood Tall [8]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Laura Hale, Asthmatic Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Awesome Laura Hale, Beacon Hills Lacrosse Team, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Laura Hale Lives, Minor Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Pre-Bite Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26572897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacyevans/pseuds/jacyevans
Summary: Or: Eight times Laura Hale offers someone the bite.Or: How Laura Hale rebuilds her pack and re-learns what it means to call Beacon Hills home.[NOTE: You do not need to be familiar with the rest of the verse to read this fic, but it would definitely add to the experience. TL;DR, Laura survives both Peter and the Argents and reestablishes the Hale pack with Derek in Beacon Hills.]
Series: She Stood Tall [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/836376
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28
Collections: Laura Hale Appreciation Week 2020





	Tales from the Verse

**Author's Note:**

> So. This happened.
> 
> I've wanted to write the stories of how Laura invited each person into the pack since I wrote "A to B," the finale the She Stood Tall verse, back in 2018. I could never figure out how to get the words on the page.
> 
> I should have known better than to plan - the original 7 fics were born of unexpected inspiration and wacky, random happenstance. Of course, these stories would be, too.
> 
> Some of these chapters will be posted as "Laura Hale Appreciation Week" goes on. The rest will be posted sometime next week. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy returning to this verse as much as I do.

Laura asks Scott about the Bite after a lacrosse game his senior year of high school.

He’s filling in for someone on the field, lungs burning from lack of oxygen. She can hear him panting from all the way up in the stands. During a time-out, he rushes to the bench, grabbing the inhaler Stiles has been holding in his hands and taking a long, slow puff. Coach tugs him to the side, asks if he’s okay to keep playing. Scott narrows his eyes, nods, tosses Stiles the inhaler, and rushes back onto the field.

They win the game 10 - 9, but Scott walks with his head down as he approaches Laura’s car and climbs into the back seat.

“You were awesome out there tonight,” Stiles says; he isn’t just pacifying Scott. He smells of disappointment that he was once again left on the bench, but warm elation for his friend.

“Yeah,” Scott mutters, buckling his seatbelt. He leans back in his seat and slouches down. 

“Dude, I’m serious--”

“Seatbelt, Stiles,” Laura says, cutting him off. Stiles makes a face. He yanks the seatbelt across his chest, struggling to find the correct clip. Scott takes the buckle from his hand without complaint, strapping Stiles in with a click.

“Thanks, bro.” He grins. “Come on! Smile! You made the first goal! You kicked ass out there, man.”

“And Coach almost pulled me off the field right after when I stumbled onto the sideline because I couldn’t breathe,” Scott snaps. Stiles frowns, but he nudges Scott in the arm, pressing their shoulders together before he turns to pester Derek instead.

She pulls up in front of the Stilinski house. Stiles unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the door.

“Hey, Scott, hang back a minute,” she says, catching his eye in the rearview mirror. Scott frowns and exchanges a puzzled look with Stiles.

“Don’t look at me. I got nothin.’ Ack!” He yelps as Derek grasps onto the collar of his jersey, dragging him into the house. Stiles bitches about handsy werewolves who need obedience training as the door shuts.

Scott reeks of teenage angst - a particular smell she could only describe as teenage sweat mixed with anxiety turned up to eleven. Beneath that is bitter resentment, no doubt at what he perceives as his own failure. 

She turns around in her seat so she can see his face. She and Derek discussed this weeks ago; she wanted to make sure they were on the same page. “I wanted to ask you something. Have you ever considered taking the Bite?”

Scott’s head snaps up, eyes wide. “You mean like - becoming a werewolf?”

“No, I mean that hickey on your neck the size of Mount Doom.” 

Scott slaps a hand to the left side of his neck, grimacing when he hits the bruise. Go Allison.

Laura grins. “Yes, becoming a werewolf.”

“I don’t know. Haven’t really thought about it.” His frown deepens. “Is this about how shitty I played tonight?”

“You scored a goal,” she says, re-emphasizing Stiles’ earlier reassurance. 

“Danny scored two,” he grumbles.

Laura rolls her eyes. “And that’s still one more than most of the other players on your team. There was nothing shitty about anything you did on that field.”

“You don’t know what it's like.” Scott stares down at his lap. His hand clenches at the bottom of his jersey. “You’ve never had to worry about getting a paper cut, nevermind barely being able to breathe some days just from walking down the stairs.”

Every so often, one of the humans will throw that in their face, that as werewolves, they don’t know what it's like to suffer from physical illness, usually while they’re whining about a stuffy nose or the flu. Most of the time, she ignores the comment. 

Every so often - like when Scott couldn’t find his inhaler fast enough and started wheezing on the couch, or when the sheriff got into a car accident on his way home from work and broke his wrist in three places - the reminder stings. “I know that, Scott. That still doesn’t negate anything you did tonight.”

“I guess,” Scott mutters. He clears his throat, a cautious hope twisting around the edges of his scent. “So, if I become a werewolf - no more asthma, right?”

“I’m not saying it’ll be easy,” Laura says gently. “Your lungs will work just fine - better than fine, even. You’ll be able to run a mile in ten minutes without breaking a sweat.” His eyes light up. She shakes her head. “But the first few months are… painfully difficult for a new wolf. You’ll have to adapt to enhanced senses and heightened emotions. Your body is going to move in ways you aren’t used to. You’ll probably wolf out if someone so much as breathes too hard in your direction, and that’s nothing compared to how aggressive you’ll feel on the first few full moons until you find your anchor and learn control.”

“You know, you’re doing a horrible job of selling me on this,” Scott says, and when he gives her a small smile, she rolls her eyes.

“Listen wiseass,” she says, grin widening when he huffs a laugh, “I’m just making sure you have all of the information so you can make an informed decision.”

He bites his lip. “Do I have to decide tonight?”

She barks a laugh. “Hell no. I’m not biting you until you’re at least eighteen, so you have plenty of time to think about it.” She shifts in her seat, leaning her elbow on the headrest. “I just wanted you to know you have the option, if you want it.”

His smile is genuine this time. “Thanks.” Laura reaches back to ruffle his hair. He ducks her hand, opening the door.

Laura follows him out of the car. She waits until he slings his bag on his shoulder and shuts the door to add, “Oh, I also need to talk to your mother first.”

“Oh, come on!”


End file.
